This disclosure is related to the field of water distillation technology, primarily as may be used in power generation, food production, civil engineering and construction, and other industrial applications.
An apparatus and a process for recovering lighter molecular weight components from a mixture of multiple molecular weight components different boiling points is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,328,591 issued to Holtzapple et al. The apparatus includes an evaporator drum, a liquid-driven condensing gas ejector, a separator, a heat exchanger, and a pump. The evaporator drum is connected by a vapor product conduit with the liquid-driven gas ejector. A discharge of the liquid-driven condensing gas ejector is connected with a separator. A vapor outlet of the separator is connected to heat exchangers. A liquid product outlet of the separator is connected to a pump. The heat exchanger conducts its heat to a medium in the evaporator drum medium.
The process implemented by the apparatus disclosed in the '591 patent may have a low energy efficiency.